Swallowing Stones

Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


YA--great story, with lots of room for discussion when sharing it with students. I met this author a few years ago, and she told the audience that her stories are based on real incidents that have happened in our Garden State.

This is a story about chance, owning-up to your actions, and how lies can spin out of control.



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Nevermore

Nevermore: A Photobiography of Edgar Allan Poe by Karen Lange

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful biography about Poe, with excellent photos and sources. I discovered Poe when I was in 7th grade, and read most of his short stories which I found chilling and very creepy. But, I especially loved his poem, Annabel Lee. I must have read that poem a thousand times, and can still recite much of it by heart. His death is still a mystery--too bad there was no CSI teams back then. He is considered the father of detective fiction.

A sad, tragic, too-short life, but this book is a great introduction for any middle school student.



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Almost Astronauts

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I always marvel when I read about a piece of history that I was totally unaware of as I was growing up. This book is a fantastic account of women who fought to be part of NASA's astronaut program in the early 1960's. I never realized how much of our male culture felt that women could never have "The Right Stuff". A great book with lots of terrific photos, and the text is just right for advanced middle school readers, and certainly high school students. This is an inspiring story for young women and girls, and boys will find reading about the endurance tests really interesting, too.



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When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I liked this simple story very much. It is written in a clear, insightful way, really getting into the mind of a young girl dealing with life in New York City, friends, school, and staying safe as she treks back and forth to school. I loved the connection with "A Wrinkle in Time", and the ending was quite surprising.



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Mockingjay

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow, what a story! Suzanne Collins has completed a trilogy that is pretty amazing. Her story of Katniss Everdeen will haunt me for a long time. This last book is heart-wrenching and grim, but still leaves the reader with a faint glimmer of hope. What an incredible imagination. The series is nonstop action from the first book to the last.



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Olive's Ocean

Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this short novel called Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes a while ago. It is a simple story about a few summer days in 12 year-old Martha's life. The title refers to a girl Martha hardly knew, but one summer day Olive's mom visits Martha and gives her a journal that belonged to her daughter. Olive died in a bicycle accident. This whole incident changes Martha. It was simply written, and part of the story takes place on Cape Cod, one of my favorite places.

Check it out--it's in our library.



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The Sacrifice

The Sacrifice by Diane Matcheck




During a very warm 4th of July summer afternoon, I finished an interesting book called The Sacrifice by Diane Matcheak. This book had been hanging around my office for over a year, and I finally cataloged it and decided to read it. I love books about the Native American experience, and so this was right up my alley.



The Indian girl has no name at the beginning of the story. She is considered an outcast among her people, because her mother is dead, her twin brother was killed in a raid, and her father, who was once a great warrior, is no longer important among his people. The girl has trained herself to become a great warrior, and wants to prove herself in her village.



The setting is out west in Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. Her people are Apsaalooka, or Crow, and although most girls did not become warriors, it was not forbidden to do so.



The ending was so exciting, I could not stop reading it until I was done. I heartily recommend this book--really--give it a chance!



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Rikers High

Rikers High by Paul Volponi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a revealing tale of what it's like to be a young man behind bars.

The author, Paul Volponi knows of what he writes, because he was a teacher of incarcerated teens.

The language and action are authentic, the violence ever-present. The reader is allowed to get inside Martin's head, as he goes to court, then only to find himself back on Riker's Island, disappointed, but willing to do anything to get "home".



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Ruined

Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A good ghost story, set in one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. Rebecca's dad is going to China for a year, and so she must stay with an aunt in New Orleans for an entire school year. She is a New York City girl, and she can't get the hang of all the "family" traditions in New Orleans. When she meets the ghost of a murdered 16 year-old black girl, who was killed over 150 years ago, Rebecca realizes that the snobby rich girls in her school are hiding an old family secret, which includes a curse that still seems to be lurking on some of the old families.



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American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a graphic novel, but not for kids. It was really funny and very cleverly done. American Born Chinese is actually three stories: the first is about Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, almost a racist stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. There is now a sequel, which I would like to read.



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Escape Under the Forever Sky

Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Lucy's mom is the American ambassador to Ethiopia. Lucy loves adventure, animals and nature, and so this situation sounds perfect. Well, it would be, but Lucy's mom is super strict, and will not allow her to do anything except go to school. Well, being a 13 year-old, she finds a way to get around her mother's orders, and ends up in a life-threatening predicament.
This is a good adventure, with lots of Ethiopian culture thrown in. It's a fast read, that both boys and girls should enjoy.

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Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Terrific! Usually, sequels are not as good as the original book, but this story ends leaving you panting for the third book! Thanks to the author, Suzanne Collins, for writing a terrific adventure/sci-fi series that is not dumbed-down for young people.

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The Trouble Begins at 8: A life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West

The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An easy to read biography of an American literary legend, with great illustrations and photographs. I learned a few disturbing facts about Mark Twain, but all-in-all, I learned that he led quite an adventurous life.

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Chains

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well, Laurie Halse Anderson has done it again--written a really good historical fiction novel, that leaves you wanting more. And guess what? It seems as if there will be a sequel. Isabel's story is exciting, heartbreaking, and at the end, hopeful. As a young female slave in New York just at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, we see Isabel as an intelligent girl, looking for her chance to escape from her horrible owner, amid the chaos of the war for independence. What a wonderful way to learn about this important period in American history!

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This was an awful story. It was disgusting and absurd. In the beginning, I laughed at some of the more gruesome antics, but then it got to be ridiculous. Written in the style of Jane Austen, which could be a big turn-off to most teens, I would not recommend this book to anyone!

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Revenge of the Whale

Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex, Adapted for Young People from In The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a wonderful book about whaling, way back in the 1820's.
It is a nonfiction book, but reads as easily as a novel. The book tells a story of a whaling ship from Nantucket that was actually attacked by a huge whale in the Pacific Ocean, and as a result the ship sunk. The horrified crew knew it would take a miracle for them to survive, as they were a thousand miles from any land. The crew, now in three small boats, set sail for land, and the adventure is told in an exciting way. Of course, they actually had to resort to cannibalism,in order for some of the men to survive.
Having been to Nantucket a few times, and having been on many whale watches off of Cape Cod, this book brought the smell of the wind and the sea to life for me. It is also a look into what makes some men brave, and what lengths some men will go to survive against all odds.

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Crossing the Wire

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
An interesting tale of a young Mexican teen who has decided he needs to come to the US in order to help his family. He knows it is dangerous and illegal, but he feels has no choice but to cross the border illegally. The danger, the hardships, are all here, and told from the perspective of a teen who has led a fairly innocent life up to now, this story can lead to some really good discussions.

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Box Out

Box Out by John Coy


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I usually enjoy sports stories, but I wasn't thrilled by this one. I didn't care enough about the characters. Liam is a sophomore on his high school JV basketball team, and is called to play varsity. He gets all upset with the coach leading the team in prayer, and I just didn't buy it. He ends up quitting the team, and helping out with the girl's basketball team.

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Hurricane Song: a novel of New Orleans

Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
An interesting novel that takes place in the few days that Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans. Miles, a 12-year old, has gone to live with his musician father. He's almost sure that his dad loves his trumpet more than his own son. Once they get news of the massive storm, they are forced to seek refuge in the Superdome. And there, the nightmare begins.

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Flight to Freedom

Flight to Freedom: First Person Fiction by Ana Veciana-Suarez


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really liked this book. The story of Cuban-born Yara, starts out in Havana, 1967, where the regime of Castro is making life miserable for all those who oppose the Communists. Her family has decided to flee Cuba and head to Miami. This is a story based on the author's life, and it reads very true. An interesting glimpse into life during the 1960's, life for a family caught in-between two cultures--told from the heart of an 8th grade girl.

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